Personal Tasers and Some Police

[Glenn E. Meyer]

This is from the NYTimes - I highlight some comments that I find problematic.

July 19, 2007
Feeling Secure With a Little Shocking Pink
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

PERHAPS the discovery of a Taser lurking in the bottom of your date’s purse does not bode well for a romantic evening. But a compact version of the electric-shock weapons — which have attracted ample controversy in their use by police officers — will arrive in stores later this month, and it will come in pink.

Taser International, based here, has been selling its device, one that paralyzes targets with a seriously painful zap, for more than a decade. The device is used by roughly 11,000 police departments around the nation, and is sold to consumers, at a hefty price, as a personal defense item.

In a few weeks, Taser will introduce an item that is far more compact and a lot less expensive than the standard Tasers used by police, though its shock is no less potent. The company’s executives say they are trying to capture a market of people looking for a weapon that is more reliable than pepper spray, but less reliable, so to speak, than a gun, and less expensive than the standard Taser.

The new C2, as the weapon is called, looks more like a large disposable razor than a gun, comes in a variety of colors and is $350, all of which Taser executives believe will persuade women to add the weapon to their checklist for the evening: lipstick, wallet, keys, Taser.

“It is a woman’s product,” said Kathy Hanrahan, president of Taser, who says she has experienced numerous shocks as part of her market research.

Ms. Hanrahan imagines a situation in which a woman is menaced as she makes her way to her car in a parking garage. She points and clicks her Taser at her target, delivering a 30-second shock (the police’s version transmits a 5-second zap) and then drops the Taser and runs madly. “If I am going to use it, I’m going to fire it and leave,” she said.

The use of Tasers, which deliver an excruciating 50,000-volt shock to a target, has been scrutinized for several years by medical professionals, law enforcement officials and Amnesty International, which says that more than 200 people have died after being shot by the devices. Taser disputes Amnesty International’s figures.

Several groups have pressed law enforcement officials to limit the use of Tasers to instances in which the only other choice is gunfire, and to not use it to subdue targets who are simply resisting orders, which is often how it is employed.

The Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit group focused on improving police tactics, has recommended that a doctor examine those who have been shocked.
“We think there should be similar guidelines for citizens,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the forum. “We’re also concerned about the first time a citizen confronts an officer with a Taser.”


But medical examiners have rarely cited Tasers as a cause of death, and the company’s executives have long held that Taser-related fatalities were instead caused by drug overdoses. They cite the company’s record (52-0) in product liability lawsuits.

One study, by a Wisconsin scientist, showed that shocks from the device caused the hearts of healthy pigs to stop beating. But Dr. Ted Chan, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who has studied the effect of Taser shocks on healthy human volunteers, said in an interview that the product, “is by and large pretty safe. In general tests we haven’t found anything significant,” although he has not tested the product on drug users.

As for people using Tasers while committing crimes, executives have designed an elaborate system to activate the gun, including a required background check over the phone. And the device, when fired, discharges a spray of confetti-like pieces of paper printed with the gun’s serial number.
Still, law enforcement officials may well take a dim view of the broader population having access to Tasers. “I’m just going to point out that even within our police department, they are restricted to supervisors and expert personnel,” said Paul J. Browne, a spokesman for the New York Police Department. “It certainly raises questions to have them in the hands of individuals who are not trained.”


Taser executives insist, though, that their product is a humane alternative to guns, and that Tasers deter crime even when they are simply pulled out and aimed, if never fired.

Taser, with a corporate headquarters that seems designed by a writer of science fiction fantasy novels (they ♥ retina scans) began with the idea of self defense for women.

Tom Smith, a founder of Taser International, said he and his brother heard their mother say that she worried about protecting herself. She tried a stun gun, Mr. Smith said over sandwiches in his desert office compound here, but it has to be pressed against its target. “She said, ‘This isn’t something I am comfortable with.’ She had pepper spray, and she sprayed herself in the face. She ended up buying a Doberman.”

The brothers, inspired by “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” thought to themselves, “Why can’t we make a phaser,” Mr. Smith said.

The company’s first personal Taser was introduced in 1994 and sold by the Sharper Image, which seemed logical in terms of capturing the gadget-loving audience. But, Mr. Smith said, “It was not where people were looking to buy things for self defense.”

Next came a Taser-meets-the-Club product for auto protection, which, he concedes, was “an unmitigated disaster” So it was back to the drawing board. “We got into this to protect lives,” Mr. Smith said, “So we said, ‘Let’s go after the police market,’ ” which they did in 1999.

The consumer product remained available but, he said, “The reality is it looked like a gun and it felt like a gun and the average price point was $1,000.” And so the idea for the C2 was born.

Taser executives realized they had a bit of a marketing issue on their hands. If you want to move personal defense out from behind the gun rack at sporting goods stores and into the hands of tae kwon do mothers across America, where does it go? With car alarms? IPods?

That part seems somewhat in flux.

For example, Gander Mountain, an outdoor goods retailer, with 108 stores east of the Rocky Mountains, said it will sell the C2 with its guns. “We sell firearms for personal defense as well as hunting and target shooting, so it would be a natural fit,” said Tim Martin, a company spokesman. “I think that there is a lot of interest in personal defense and safety and there are people who want alternatives,” to guns, he added. Cabela’s, a store in Nebraska that features hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise, will also be selling the C2.

But Amazon, which is taking orders for the C2, lists the product in its home improvement section. (Customers who brought this item are also fond of pepper spray, extendable steel riot batons and handcuffs. Interesting shoppers. Maybe not making the short list for the next dinner party.)

Amazon, after an inquiry from a reporter, said they intend to remove the C2 from the Web site, although it was still there as of yesterday.

Shooting the C2 at a target makes it clear that to be on the receiving end of its power would be something other than splendiferous. After a loud pop and a wee bit of feedback that zips through the shooter’s hand, the target buzzes uncontrollably for about a half-minute.

Ms. Hanrahan looked on with satisfaction. “It’s not the world we grew up in,” she said. “People need to feel safe. We fill the void.”

---------- Is it the view of some that no method of self-protection should be allowed? Always astonished by the nervous nellies of the world.

[Manedwolf]

The biggest problem I have with the cartridge taser is that it's a single shot. Miss, and you're now unarmed, and you've pissed off the attacker.

IMO, a .38 special and training is better for a woman who wants something in her purse.

[Hosses]

The biggest problem I have with the cartridge taser is that it's a single shot. Miss, and you're now unarmed, and you've pissed off the attacker.

A TASER is no different in use without a cartridge than that of a contact stun-gun (except being far more potent).

Plus, reload takes a matter of a mere second.

Glenn - the C2 has been out/for sale for more than a couple of months now

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I just post 'em. Interesting though that some more powerful less than lethals are coming on the market.

The Kimber OC gadget rather than a simple spray

This personal taser

The taser shot shell - wonder when that makes it to the public? Put two in a coach gun for the little lady - kind of pitch.

I think the big move will be to lower the price over time.

[Hard Ball]

This is shocking!

[el_diabl0]

Taser International, based here, has been selling its device, one that paralyzes targets with a seriously painful zap, for more than a decade.

That's a long time to be paralyzed by a taser!!!

[Timeframe]

I would think that a Tazer wouldn't be much good in the winter months,when people tend to wear more clothes.

[Hosses]

Taser, not tazer

The probes do not need to be embedded into the skin to take effect.

[JoeBlackSpade]

Anybody else been zapped by these?

Years ago, my unit had to get some of this, and it SUCKS. When it was my turn, I wanted to try to play it off and act like I wasn't phased. There was no way. Everyone goes down to the ground; it feels like you stuck an antenna into a light socket with your bare hands. My jaws hurt for 3 days, and a couple guys wet their pants.

I hope this technology gets developed to the point where it can be a safe and utterly reliable alternative to carrying a firearm. You can't really ever be seen as the agressor if you're carrying one of these.

[obxned]

Sorry, but I am not impressed. It's worthless for multiple BGs. It is also an ideal weapon for a BG to use against victims. Remember, the BG can choose a situation where there is a potential victim all alone, but you have no choice in how many BGs are trying to rob you.

If it gets people who would never carry a firearm to do something for their own safety, then it is a very good product, but I'll stick with doing things the old fashioned way.

[ceetee]

How long before FUBU comes out with their own line of Tase-resistant sport jackets and windbreakers?

I think anyone relying entirely on a less-than-lethal means of self-defense is selling themselves short. These things are fine when sued as intended; as another layer in a a self-defense plan. But I also think marketing these to women and telling them that a C2 is all they need is doing them a mis-service.